Top US and Chinese trade representatives on Tuesday reaffirmed commitments to move forward with the Phase 1 trade deal. They also discussed China’s efforts in increasing purchases of US products, improving protection for intellectual property rights, and removing barricades to allow US companies to access its domestic markets.
The pledge was made when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a telephoned talk with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. This was the first official talk after US President Donald Trump cancelled the planned six-month review due to his dissatisfaction over Beijing’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said that both parties had agreed to push the agreement forward after having a “constructive dialogue.” Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the deal is “alive and well.” Navaro, a vocal China hawk, said that China is fulfilling its promise to buy more corn, soybeans, pork, and beef from the US.
Meanwhile, statistics from the US Census Bureau showed the country exported $7.274 billion of agricultural goods to China in the period, far below China’s pledge to import $36.5 billion of US agricultural products. China also met only 5% of its commitment to purchase $25.3 billion of US energy products in the first half of 2020.
However, China is set to increase imports of US crude oil. Tanker tracking data showed that Chinese state-owned oil companies have so far booked carriers to bring about 20 million barrels of American oil in August and September. Analysts are sceptical whether China could meet its crude oil purchase commitments in the rest of the year, but they said that the country might ramp up imports of petrochemical feedstock such as LPG, propane, and ethane from the US.
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Published on August 26, 2020 5:23 PM (GMT+8)Last Updated on August 26, 2020 5:23 PM (GMT+8)
